All alone
by Loopstagirl
Summary: Scott reaches breaking point for looking after his brothers so Grandma Tracy takes charge of the situation, and her son.


**So, here it is, my next Thunderbird fic! Hope that you all enjoy it!**

**Big thanks to PirateMoose for betaing this for me, merci my friend, couldn't have done it without you! Or at least, my grammer couldn't have done it without you!**

**Please review at the end so i know what you all feel about this!**

**in case any one was wondering, i own nothing, nada, nil, take your pick!**

Ruth Tracy pulled up alongside the house, mentally running through the list in her head for things that she could do with her grandsons during their day together. It was a Friday, meaning that there was not the usual conundrum of trying to make sure that all five of them had finished their homework and packed their bags for school the next day. Jeff was away at a conference, another one, and Scott was to pick his brothers up from school. After that, it was over to the Tracy matriarch to look after them until her son got back the next morning. Ruth couldn't say that she approved of Jeff being away again, but he didn't listen to her anymore. Since he had lost his wife just a few months ago, Ruth had seen an astonishing change take place. The loving father had disappeared, buried deep within his grief. He ran his family more like a military operation now, diving into his work and not spending any time with the boys. Ruth tried to make sure that she came over as often as possible, knowing that the boys, most particularly the two youngest, needed a loving hand to hold during this difficult time.

Climbing out of the car, Ruth opened the back door and picked up the numerous bags that were littered across the seats. Groceries, games, blankets, you name it, Ruth Tracy had bought it with her. Before she had time to move any further, the front door opened and a red haired figure came hurtling out, closely followed by a smaller blond one.

"Grandma, Grandma, you're here!" Six year old Gordon wrapped himself around his grandmother's legs, delighted that she had come. "Daddy said that you were coming to stay whilst he went away."

"That's right, darling," Ruth bent down and gave her grandson a one armed hug, ruffling his hair as he did so and causing the delighted boy to giggle. Gordon and Alan were the only ones that she could still get away with doing that too, although ten year old Virgil sometimes put up with it if he was in a good mood. Scooping Alan up into her arms, Ruth left the shopping bags where they were and, taking Gordon's hand, led the two of them back into the house.

"John! I can't find Gordon again!" Ruth smiled as she crossed the hallway, hearing Virgil's running footsteps to accompany his shout. This house was never peaceful, that much was for sure.

"Try the kitchen! Maybe he is with Scott?" John's voice came bouncing down the stairs, a clear indicator that the boy was in his bedroom. Gordon giggled delightedly at once again being the topic of his brother's conversations, but before Ruth could say anything, Virgil came skidding into view from the lounge. Stopping short when he saw his grandmother, Virgil couldn't hide his pleasure at seeing her again.

"Grandma! Thank goodness you're here!" Catching sight of a red head poking out behind his grandmother's legs, Virgil frowned.

"What did Scott tell you about going outside without either him or John, Gordon? Especially as Alan followed you out."

Without looking, Ruth knew that Gordon had begun to pout and was anxious that they could at least get through a couple of hours before the arguments started.

"No need to fret, Virgil dear. He came to see me, so there was an adult present outside."

Virgil smiled in relief and by the release of pressure on her leg, Ruth knew that Gordon had also relaxed. Mission complete. Setting Alan down on the floor, Ruth gently untangled Gordon from her leg.

"John! Scott! Grandma's here!" Virgil's call went bouncing around the house, making Ruth feel that every one in the neighbour hood would know that she had arrived by now.

Hurried footsteps came from upstairs as John came charging down, a pencil stuck behind his ear. Giving his grandmother a quick hug, John shot out of the front door. Going to the car, he somehow managed to juggle all of her bags and began to ferry them back to the house, only to notice that a little person was trying to help him.

"Gordo?" He asked in surprise, not having noticed his younger brother follow him out. "What are you doing out here?"

"Virgil said I could come out if you or Scotty was here, so I can come out now."

"Were here," John corrected automatically. He had to bite back a smile, Gordon was a clever one for getting what he wanted, even if he was only six. "Come on then, trouble. I'm going back in, so in you come."

"Ok, Johnny," With a winning smile, Gordon gripped onto his big brother's hand and allowed himself to be led back into the house. John smiled fondly down at him, that kid sure knew how to melt his heart.

When they reached the hallway, they found that their grandmother and brother had not moved. Virgil was in the process of telling Ruth about this award that he was winning for his latest art piece. Alan had stumbled into the lounge and was in the process of running his toy car up and down the arm of the sofa, making the appropriate noises as he did so. It was slightly unnerving that he knew the exact pitch that something should be making depending on how fast/slow the car was going. Most kids his age just made the same noise, no matter what. It appeared that the youngest Tracy had a thing for cars.

"Where's Scott?" Ruth eventually asked, after having listened patiently to all that Virgil had been telling her. It was only the tone of his voice that made her realise that she should be feeling proud. The language of the younger generation confused her at the best of times, but add in the technical names for the artistic comments coming from her middle grandson meant that she really didn't know what he had just spent the last ten minutes telling her.

"In the kitchen I think," John said, leading Gordon into the lounge and letting him go to Alan and show him how to make the car go faster.

"He said something about needing to clear up before you got here, Grandma," Virgil supplied, oblivious to the warning glance that John sent him. Knowing that she wasn't supposed to have seen it, Ruth immediately felt her interests levels rise a few notches.

"Well, I better go and say hello," Smiling at the two boys left in the hallway, Ruth crossed over into kitchen. This time, she did miss the kick that John sent to his younger brother.

Standing in the kitchen doorway, Ruth could see the back of Scott's head standing over by the sink. He had a pile of clean dished neatly staked on the draining board and was just in the process of washing the last dish even as his grandmother entered.

"Hello, Scott darling," Ruth called from the doorway. The reaction that she received was not the one that she had anticipated. Scott spun sharply around, almost dropping the plate he was holding.

"Grandma! We weren't expecting you till later!" Ruth frowned as she studied the teenager opposite her. He looked awful. There were huge black circles under his eyes, contrasting with his unusually pale face. His hair was tussled, a tell tale sign that he had been or still was stressed.

"Darling! What on earth is the matter?" Ruth cried, hurrying across the kitchen and flinging her arms around her eldest grandson. For once, he didn't try to squirm out of it, but instead leant into the warmth of the embrace. Planting a kiss on the top of his head, Ruth knew that something was definitely wrong.

"John! Virgil! Can you come in here for a moment please?" Calling back through the open kitchen door, it didn't take long for the hurried footsteps to arrive as the two brothers raced into the kitchen. It seemed that whatever was wrong was only affecting Scott, those two were perfectly fine.

"Do you think that you could help Scott with the dishes? John, you dry them up and Virgil, can you put them away, dear? I need to have a little chat with Scott."

John nodded slowly, his eyes searching Scott's face. He seemed to be asking his big brother a question, for Scott mutely shook his head, causing John to frown. Ruth watched on interestedly, wondering what they were hiding from her. Virgil, however, didn't have the same restraint as his brother.

"Is this about-," Before he could finish his sentence, John coughed very meaningfully and gave Virgil a sharp kick on the ankle. Defusing the situation before it got out of hand, Ruth set the two of them on their jobs and led Scott back into the lounge, pretending that she hadn't noticed Virgil's blunder. The Tracy boys were usually very open with their grandmother, but when there was something to be hidden; they all came together and worked as a team to keep the secret. Whilst Ruth admired their teamwork and trust they had for each other, it could be most annoying at times. Gordon and Alan were still happily playing with the cars, and knowing that there would be no fear of an interruption from those two, Ruth pushed Scott down onto the sofa between them. Perching on the edge next to him, Ruth studied the young face anxiously. Scott had grown up too quickly. His mother's death had forced him into a role that he was not yet ready for. And although Ruth knew that her son loved his boys dearly, he had allowed it to happen, too wrapped up in his own grief to really notice that changes taking place under his very nose.

"Now, dear. Did you not sleep last night? You look terrible. What is wrong, sweetheart?"

"Nothing, Grandma," Scott replied, fixing a smile onto his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes though, the usual sparkle that inhabited them remained well and truly out.

"What makes you think that you can lie to me, Scott?"

Sighing, Scott ran a hand through his already messy hair. He didn't want to have to tell his grandmother what was really going on, he knew that it would lead to yet another argument. If there was one thing that Scott Tracy was really fed up with, it was the arguments between his father and grandmother. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause another one.

"Ok, I didn't sleep great last night. I was up half of the night trying to get an English assignment finished, it was due in today. Then I had a really weird dream about it, probably because I then fell straight into bed with verbs whizzing around my head."

Ruth, however, wasn't fooled for an instant. She knew that there was something a lot bigger than that occurring. Scott had just given her the perfect opening to make him open up about it.

"Why did you leave the assignment so late, sweetie? You're normally so organised when it comes to school work."

"I... well, I..." Scott stuttered to a stop, realising that he had been caught out. There was nothing else that he could do now, but tell her the truth.

"I didn't get the chance to start it until eleven. By the time I had picked every one up from school, and then got us all home it was starting to get late anyway. Then we all had to go into town on the bus so that Virgil could take pictures of buildings for his art project and John wanted to go to the library. And then I had to make dinner when we got home, then Virgil got stuck on his homework and John couldn't help him because he was busy on his own work. By that time, it was time to get Alan and Gordon up to bed, and you know how difficult that is. And so I made a start on it once John and Virgil finally agreed to go to bed." Holding his breath, Scott watched his grandmother process the information that he had just provided her with. He knew full well that she would see the one piece of information that he had conveniently forgotten to mention.

"Scott?" she began slowly, making him involuntarily flinch at the tone of her voice. "When did your father leave for his conference? And tell me the truth."

"He got a call yesterday morning about something really important and left then."

"Yesterday morning!" Ruth exploded, causing Gordon to look up anxiously from his game with Alan. Alan also looked up as soon as he saw what his big brother was doing and caught sight of his hero sitting on the sofa.

"Scotty!" he cried happily, and tottering over, reached his arms up to be picked up. Scott obliged and placed his youngest brother on his knee, bouncing him up and down as he did so, causing Alan to giggle happily. After losing his playmate, Gordon also came over and managed to wedge himself in between Scott and his grandmother.

"Why on earth didn't he ring me yesterday?" Ruth continued, picking Gordon up and placing him on her own knee to stop him from sliding off the sofa again. Her outburst had caused John and Virgil to emerge from the kitchen. Knowing that their grandmother had discovered what they had been so anxiously trying to hide, they too came into the lounge, sitting on the floor in front of the sofa. John still had the towel in his hand.

"He said something about we would be able to cope just fine." Scott mumbled. Noticing how sad his brother sounded, Alan crawled up his lap and wrapped his little arms around Scott's neck, hugging him tightly. Returning the gesture, Scott shut his eyes. He was too tired to have to deal with this now. All he wanted to do was go and have a nice long sleep without having to worry which brother had got themselves into trouble this time.

"Why don't you go and have a nice rest, Scott dear?" Ruth said, placing Gordon on the floor and gently untangling Alan. Scott nodded, rubbing his eyes as he did so. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. As Scott left the room, the rest of the Tracy's sat in silence, watching him go. Noticing the atmosphere of the room, Gordon sat himself down in John's lap, not noticing the wet towel until it was too late. Jumping up again with a squeal of outrage, Gordon glared accusingly at his brother as the rest of the family began to laugh. You could always count on Gordon to provide the distraction when it was most needed.

Deciding that there were too many other things to deal with, Ruth did something that she normally refused to do. Allowing the boys between them to decide which film they wanted to watch, Ruth simply left them to it, knowing that the older two were sensitive enough to make sure that the noise was kept low so as not to disturb their brother. John and Virgil had managed to finish up on the dishes, making the kitchen look a lot better. Even so, there were signs everywhere that Jeff had not been home last night, leaving everything to his teenage son to handle. It made Ruth's blood boil when she considered how irresponsible Jeff was being. It wasn't as if Scott only had to look after himself. Alan had only just turned four, for goodness sake. No teenager should have that much responsibility at Scott's age. His only concern should be getting his homework done and things like that, not having to stay up half the night to do it because he was too busy looking after his siblings.

It took all of Ruth's efforts not to clang the saucepans as loud as she could to take out her frustration with her son. Scott needed that sleep, he had looked truly awful. She bustled about the kitchen, putting things back away in their proper place after the boys had just guessed where they lived. By the time that she had everything back in order, Ruth set about making dinner. The empty pizza box that had been lying around the side made Ruth realise that Scott had done things the easy way last night, finding something easy to cook that all of the boys would eat. But it did mean that Ruth was determined to make sure that they received a decent meal tonight. After a quick glance in the fridge, the Tracy matriarch set about making her pie, knowing that it was one of Scott's favourites. That boy looked like he needed a bit of special attention at the moment.

The film had just finished as the delicious smells began to waft through the open door. With his stomach grumbling, Virgil leapt up and scurried into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help, Grandma?" he asked innocently. Ruth smiled at him, knowing full well that he only wanted the extras.

"You know what you could do for me, darling? Could you go and see if Scott wants dinner, or whether he wants me to save him some?"

Virgil's face momentarily fell before lighting back up again. He knew that he had been cheated out of stealing the extras, but was genuinely glad to be able to help in someway. Scott never let him when he was cooking, saying it was too dangerous to be around the hot oven. It wasn't as if he was a baby anymore like Gordon or Alan, he knew that the oven would be hot, but Scott never listened to him.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Virgil sprinted up to his brother's room. Skidding to a stop outside, the young artist pressed his ear against the door. No sounds could be heard from inside, so pressing down on the handle gently, Virgil tiptoed in.

The room was in darkness. The curtains that had been hastily drawn succeeded in blocking out the afternoon sun that should have been spilling into the room, allowing the sleeper some relief for his pounding head. Perching carefully on the edge of the bed, Virgil softly called his brother.

"Scott? Grandma wants to know whether you want dinner or not?"

Scott blearily opened one eye, regretting it almost instantly. He had hoped that the sleep would stop his headache before it had fully emerged, but it instead seemed to have done the opposite. Pounding in time with his heart beat, Scott winced as he looked at Virgil. Trying to make sure that he kept his temper, Scott made the point of being nice as he answered.

"Nah, it's alright. I'll have it later. Thanks anyway, bro."

Shutting his eyes again, Scott felt the weight on the edge of the bed disappear as Virgil stood back up again. Biting his lower lip thoughtfully, Virgil watched as his brother drifted back to sleep, unable to stop himself feeling worried. Creeping quietly out of the room, Virgil pulled the door shut and scurried down the stairs. The sounds emerging from the kitchen made him realise that the rest of the family had already sat down. Feeling slightly alarmed, Virgil quickened his pace, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw that they were waiting for him. In the Tracy household, if you were late for dinner, you ran the big risk of losing it to the next hungry brother.

"Did he want some, darling?" Ruth called from where she was dishing out helpings of her famous pie. Virgil shook his head.

"He looked really bad, Grandma. I think he is getting ill."

"He just needs a rest. I'm sure that he will be fine in the morning, just you wait and see." Reassured by his grandmother's words, Virgil slipped into his seat between John and Gordon. Even so, he couldn't help but let his gaze linger sadly over the vacant seat that was the other side of Gordon. Having taken an interest in medicine at a very young age, Virgil was already able to tell when one of his brother's was ill, even if they wouldn't admit it.

Placing the pie in the middle of the table, Ruth smiled at the reactions of her grandsons. Silence filled the room for the next few moments as they all hungrily tucked in. Even Alan managed to get the majority of it in his mouth rather than wearing it for a change. No matter what she told Virgil, Ruth was also worried about Scott. He had looked so pale and stressed out earlier. Although she had tried not to interfere too much over the last few months, determined to hope that Jeff would come to his senses without her getting in the way, it was time that she had a word with him. His careless behaviour was making his eldest ill. The worst part of it all was that he probably hadn't realised the amount of responsibility he had made Scott shoulder, thinking that everything was under control. Knowing Scott, he hadn't said a word to his father about how he really felt at being made to play parent to his four younger brothers.

The remaining children finished their dinner with a speed that always left Ruth astonished, even after all of this time. Once they had helped tidy up, Ruth sent them into the lounge. Even if Scott was ill, she couldn't neglect the others just to look after him, especially as all he wanted to do was to sleep. Sending John to collect her bags, Ruth pulled out the new game that she had purchased not that long ago from one of them. She had heard the boys talk about it last time she was here and decided to surprise them. It was worth it, even though she did nearly get flattened by the over enthusiastic hugs that came flying her way.

The game was a good one. Simple enough to allow Alan to play, but challenging enough that John didn't get bored. There were not many games that catered for their various ages and it was nice to find something that they would be able to do as a family, once Scott was back on his feet. Alan and Gordon disappeared up to bed after a couple of rounds, then Virgil and John went up around ten. Ruth knew full well that John had no intention of going to sleep yet, however, and when she checked on him half an hour later, was right. Curled up under his duvet, John could barely be seen past the massive book he was attempting to read. Gently pulling it out of his hand, Ruth planted a kiss on the top of his blond head and pulled the covers up around him.

"Sleep time now, sweetheart. Pleasant dreams, John."

"Night, Grandma," John murmured, snuggling further down into the warmth. Ruth stood and simply watched him as his eyes drifted shut, smiling fondly at the sight. Once she knew that John wouldn't pick his book up again the minute she left, Ruth carefully pulled the door closed behind her and crept along the hallway, anxious not to awaken any of its inhabitants. Virgil was dead to the world, looking like he wasn't going to move any time soon, but Gordon needed untangling from his sheets already. After checking on Alan, Ruth turned back to find that Gordon had already managed to kick them off again. Setting him straight once more, she sent a whispered `good night` into the room and continued on her travels. Pushing Scott's door open with a well practiced ease of silence, Ruth was surprised to see him awake.

"Did you have a sleep, Scott?" She said quietly, sitting on the edge of his bed. Scott sat up, pulling the covers tightly around him as he did so. The nights were drawing in, making it quite chilly at this time if not properly dressed for it.

"I drifted a bit I think, but then my head started hurting and woke me up."

"How is it now?" Ruth frowned at Scott in the darkened room, trying to read his facial expression. Scott was not well known for being honest when his health was involved, but Ruth knew when he was lying. Having raised a son herself, then help with five grandsons, not a lot managed to get past her.

"It's much better now. Tell you what, I am hungry though." Deciding that he was telling the truth for once, Ruth smiled at Scott. Standing up, she reached over to his chair where his dressing gown had been thrown, she helped him into it. Leading the way back down the stairs, Ruth set about heating the portion of dinner left.

"Why don't you go and sit in the lounge, sweetheart? I'll bring it through on a tray for you."

"Really? Wow, thanks Grandma, you're the best." Scott hurried from the room quickly. Ruth didn't often allow them their dinners on their laps, preferring that they all sat around the table as a family. On the odd occasion, however, she could make an exception, especially as Scott was the only one up.

Carrying the tray through, Ruth found Scott huddled on the sofa, snuggling into his dressing gown. Placing the tray on his lap, she laughed at the expression that crossed his face when he saw what was for dinner. The good thing with that particular pie was that it was just as nice reheated as it was fresh, meaning that Scott had not lost out in the slightest by having his four hours later. The way that he demolished the meal in a matter of moments was extremely reassuring for his grandmother. It seemed that the sleep really had done him good. Taking the tray back from him, she took into the kitchen and returned with a nice warm glass of milk. In front of his brothers, Scott always made a scene about warm milk being for babies, but when they were not around, Ruth knew that he still enjoyed it as much as Alan did. There certainly seemed to be something comforting about it.

Taking it from her, Scott sipped at the drink gratefully. He knew that his grandmother had a way of knowing exactly what it was that they needed at times like this, and he would always be indebted to her for it.

"Better?" Ruth asked with an all knowing smile. Scott was right, she knew precisely what remedies were needed at certain times and it was incredibly rare for her to be wrong. Scott smiled at her and began to ask her about her day and what she had been doing since her last visit. That was the thing that Ruth liked about Scott's age, she could have a proper adult conversation with him without the younger ones asking what words meant and interrupting the whole time. The two of them sat chatting for a while, pleased to have the time alone together. Scott felt like he never got to see his grandmother any more, the younger boys taking up most of her time as they needed to be looked after. It had been too long since they were able to have one of their long talks. They always left Scott feeling so much better.

The two of them had been talking for almost an hour when the front door could be heard to open softly. A mixture of emotions shot across Scott's face in quick succession. Excitement, hope, disappointment, hurt. Watching him closely, Ruth had had enough. This unfairness was going to end, tonight.

Jeff came stumbling into the lounge, looking utterly exhausted. His shirt was crumpled, his tie half undone. On seeing his son still up considering the late hour, he frowned.

"Scott? Bed, now."

Scott's face fell even further, but he climbed to his feet anyway.

"Yes sir," he muttered, trailing from the room. He looked so upset that it took all of Ruth's self control not to go rushing straight after him and wrap him up in a tight embrace. No, first she had a son to sort out.

"How was your trip then, Jefferson?"

Jeff frowned at his mother's use of his full name, but was too exhausted to comment on it. Collapsing into the sofa, he gave a non-committal shrug of his shoulders as an answer. Ruth's frown deepened even further, Jeff was acting more like a teenager than Scott was.

"Do you want to know why your son was still up?" she asked him, accusations burning in her voice. Jeff caught onto the tone and frowned up at her, knowing that this wasn't going to end well. Without waiting for his answer, Ruth continued, trying to keep her voice low so that Scott wouldn't hear them argue.

"He was up because he had been in bed this afternoon with a bad headache. And you want to know why he had the headache? It was because he was so busy yesterday looking after his brothers that he was then up half the night doing his homework so he didn't get in trouble at school. You shouldn't have left them on their own, Jeff."

"Scott's old enough to look after them," Jeff responded, not seeing his mother's point. He knew that he hadn't been the best father lately, but Scott seemed to be handling everything so well.

"Yes, for a couple of hours maybe. Not an entire evening. Then he had to get them all up and out to school today as well. You should be the one doing this, Jeff, not him. For heaven's sake, they've lost their mother. Don't make them lose their father as well."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jeff rose from the sofa, feeling the anger creeping up in him. He seemed to get angry at a lot recently, it was a way that he could take out his frustrations with the world.

"What it means is that if you keep going this way, Alan won't remember who you are. You never come home until he is about to go to bed and have already left by the time he gets up in the morning. What it means is that Scott is having to play dad as well as big brother, and one day, Jeff, he won't forgive you for it. That boy has handled the last few months extremely well and I'm so proud of him, but it can't continue like this. You are making him ill!"

As his mother's words hit him, Jeff found that his legs no longer seemed to support his weight. Sitting down very suddenly on the sofa again, he ran a hand through his hair distractedly. Scott had always seemed to be in control of everything. But now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall the last time that they had done something together. He couldn't remember the last time he had done anything with any of his boys apart from give them instructions. Letting out a muffled sob, Jeff finally realised what he had done. What he had got so close to losing, if he hadn't already lost it. Knowing that she had made her point and that Jeff finally seemed to have acknowledged how irresponsible he had been, Ruth left him to it. Nothing she said now would have an affect, he had realised it all for himself. All that remained for her to do was to see if he acted on this new realisation or not.

*

Scott didn't awaken until late the next morning. Whether it was because he knew that his grandmother was here and so he didn't have to worry about his brothers for a change, or whether it was just because he had been so exhausted, he didn't know. All that he knew was that he was grateful for the extra few hours of sleep and now he was in some serious need of breakfast. Climbing out of bed, he pulled on a large jumper from the top of the pile, only realising that it was one of his father's old ones when he had almost reached the kitchen. The smell of pancakes was wafting invitingly through the open door and Scott entered, noticing that his grandmother was still cooking. Crossing over to her, Scott gave her a light kiss on the shoulder.

"Morning, Grandma," he said, causing her to turn and give him a wide smile.

"Good morning, Scott dear. How did you sleep?"

"Like a log. Can I have this batch, Grandma?" At her nod of approval, Scott picked up the plate and turned towards the table. On catching sight of it, he froze, before walking stiffly over and sitting in his favourite seat.

"Good morning, Son." Jeff said quietly, nursing his coffee between both hands.

"Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting?" Scott asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He wasn't sure whether or not he was glad that his father was here.

"I cancelled. I thought, perhaps, today, you might like to do something special. Only if you didn't have other plans, of course."

Scott stared at his father in disbelief. Had he really just said that? He had cancelled a business meeting to spend time with his son? Not trusting his voice, Scott slowly nodded. Unable to keep the smile slipping onto his face, Scott grinned down at the table as he tucked into his breakfast. Jeff smiled at the look on his oldest son's face. Maybe he hadn't lost everything just yet.

Over at the hob, Ruth smiled to herself. It looked like things were beginning to look up once more for the Tracy family. It had taken a long time, but maybe it wasn't too late to repair the rifts that had opened over the last few months.


End file.
